Smithville 78957 2022-2023 Edition

Smithville, Texas, is a small, rural community rich in culture and home to many amazing artists from all different mediums. Artists from all over have found Smithville and now call it home. In 2013, the Texas Commission on the Arts designated Smithville as one of the 24 Cultural Districts in Texas, and a city demarcated a sector to celebrate the arts. This tremendous honor reflects the ethics of hard work and strong collaboration between the artists who are members of the Lost Pines Artisan Alliance (LPAA). In 2015, the Cultural District was named the Richard D. Latham Cultural District after a man who was one of the town's most prolific art patrons. Latham championed art projects to bridge communities and provide art experiences and opportunities for expression to everybody. The LPAA is the primary leader in making Cultural District activities work for Smithville. It is the business of LPAA to help artists get to

work and enrich the community at large with the arts and art projects. When choosing six artists to feature, we turned to the LPAA. They took a survey of their members and decided on Walter Winslett, an inventive furniture designer who thinks outside the box; Wanda Gamble, the broadranging subjects of her paintings span near and far; Robin Lively who specializes in painting Texas landscapes and native birds and she primarily paints with pastels but occasionally with oil, acrylic, and watercolor; Sam Blasco, a nationally-renowned furniture designer and artisan, whose work is dispersed throughout the country; Judy Paul is a full-time artist who makes art full of fun, playfulness and inspirational, all with a widespread appeal and Jo Watts is a clay artist who also works in watercolor and paints on silk. What do these six artists have in common: they're all well respected and give so much back to the community with their art and talents.

I feel so fortunate to be involved in the Smithville community, even though I don’t live in Smithville. There’s so much going on all the time, including the many great events to the array of galleries and art entities. I’d consider Smithville one of the coolest art towns in the area. Smithville is covered with all kinds of art: murals, mosaics, statues; it seems like just about anything is considered a canvas. Small art towns have come to epitomize rural culture coolness because who wouldn’t want to visit a lively, open-minded town. A small art town like Smithville is a community worthy of a weekend getaway. They might stay at a lovely B&B, have dinner in a great (but undiscovered) restaurant, wander around art galleries and antique shops, or perhaps visit one of the many events Smithville offers. Smithville has become quite popular with folks wanting to escape the everyday hustle and bustle. It’s the sort of place where people can find a true sense of community. Families value small art towns because they place a high priority on neighborliness and security. Kids can walk home from school in safety. All of this describes Smithville, Texas, to a “T.” I hope you enjoy the 3rd edition of the Smithville 78957 magazine and see how “artsy” Smithville really is...

Smithville is such a diverse artsy community...

By DEBBIE DENNY Project Manager, Smithville 78957 Magazine Debbie Denny Media Solutions

Photo Credit: LORI GOLA PHOTOGRPAHY

Art Center The Mary Nichols

This beautiful historic home has been renovated and is dedicated to the public art of Smithville area artists. Lost Pines Artisans Alliance is the current resident organization of the Mary Nichols Art Center, which serves as the program office of the Cultural District.

The house was built by Robert Lee Nichols’ (born in Bastrop) and his new wife, Mary Virginia Wilkes. They moved to Smithville in 1884 and lived in the cottage next to the property, completing their home by the early 1900s. Robert was employed by the Missouri-Kansas and Texas Railroad. He and Mary raised nine children in that house. After Robert Lee and Mary Wilkes Nichols died (1942 and 1947, respectively), they left the home to all of their children. The offspring of those children (numbering 14 at the time) donated the home as a gift to the City of Smithville for the Mary Wilkes Nichols’ Art Center in 1992. The Art League of Smithville was the first artists’ organization to take residence in this house that year, and in 2008, the Art League graciously handed over the keys to the LPAA.

LPAA has office space there, and hosts meetings, events, educational workshops and classes there. Classes encompass various painting methods, music, fiber arts, pottery, and other modes of artistic expression. This partnership between the

City of Smithville and the LPAA extends the limited resources of LPAA, allowing them to make a greater contribution to the community.

This wonderful historic building has come back to life and is open once again for art classes and workshops. The Art Gallery is open to the public Friday/Sunday 1-4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special exhibits and receptions are held. The Art Center features local artists and encourages creativity in children.

The goal of the Lost Pines Artisans Alliance is to enrich and unify the arts community in Smithville and Bastrop County and work to make Smithville known as an “Arts Destination”. Bringing increased tourism and commerce to Smithville, the Lost Pines Artisans Alliance works to make the arts more accessible to the citizens of this community, via education, outreach, and the creation of and participation in community events.

Banner Project Youth

Brown Primary, Elementary, and Junior High students create banner art each year, then students and staff vote on their favorite artwork. The top 10 winners at each campus are made into banner flags, which are flown on flagpoles along Main Street and MLK Drive and will be added to other major roads. . Each year, we switch out the banners on one of the streets.

”The purpose of the project is to celebrate and encourage our youngest artists and to make sure that our students realize how important it is to be creative from a very early age,” says Jill Stube. “The Smithville Education Foundation began the Enrichment Days program in about 2012 after funding had been cut drastically at SISD. In 2016, the Cultural District received funding from the Texas Commission on the Arts to begin the Youth Banner program, and we’ve been running it primarily with sponsorships ever since.”

The ongoing banner project partners Smithville Education Foundation with Texas Commission on the Arts, the City of Smithville, Lost Pines Artisans Alliance, Keep Smithville Beautiful, Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce, and Smithville ISD.

The Historic Smithville Coloring Book is an extension of the 2017 National Endowment for the Arts grant-funded project. It takes all of the images from the large “Smithville Possibilities” mural in a coloring book with an online teachers’ guide to help bring Smithville history and art to life for the 3rd-grade students when they study local history. Clover Cochran, project manager, coordinated the mural, gathering input from the community about the significant people, places, events, and things that make Smithville such a special place to live. She compiled over 100 images into the large mural and opened the doors for a “paint by numbers” program for over 100 community members who came and painted the mural. The schools will provide coloring books to every 3rd-grade class for the foreseeable future. The students and teachers genuinely love it! Coloring books are available at the LPAA Gallery on Main at 206 Main Street or the Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce at 106 NE First Street for a suggested donation of $5.

By WILL HOLCOMB

Charles Kuralt, the famed radio journalist for his CBS segments On the Road, once said, "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything."

Like many small towns, Smithville used to have a highway passing through the heart of the city. Then, in the mid-1980s, Highway 71 was moved, bypassing downtown Smithville, forever changing it.

In the mid-1970s, Walter and Jeri Winslett were part of the artist co-op, Gallery 71, on the corner of Main Street and the busy Hwy 71. Gallery 71 was where painters, woodworkers, potters, toy makers, jewelers, cut glass, and artists of other mediums made their living from the people passing through Smithville as they headed to Austin or Houston via Hwy 71. With a highway passing through Smithville, people stopped, slowed down, and connected with local Smithville artists. Unfortunately, when the route moved, that connection was severed.

Five decades later, Smithville is actively rejuvenating the connection. When the highway moved, Smithville lost one type of connection, but, in many ways, it's finding a way to create a deeper connection. Now when people exit the highway and enter our town, they enter it with intention. They come here specifically for the music, the food, the theatre, and the art, all present in a community that values preserving its small-town charm. That builds a more robust connection because people are coming here for what Smithville is: a unique town growing in a unique way.

...a personal narrative detailing my encounters with 6 of Smithville's most respected and influencial community artists: Walter Winslett, Wanda Gamble, Robin Lively, Sam Blasco, Judy Paul, and Jo Watts

One of the first businesses visitors see when they leave the highway and enter downtown Smithville is Mosaic Art & Home, with Stefanie Distefano's enormous, beautiful mosaic of the famed trumpet player and Smithville native Hannibal Lokumbe gracing the side of the building. Mosaic houses the art of many different artists spanning a range of mediums. What makes Mosaic even more remarkable is that the building, once known as Gallery 71, is now owned by the same people who ran the artist coop in the building in the 70s and 80s, Walter and Jeri Winslett.

Walter Winslett

As you walk through Mosaic, admiring the tables full of drawings, pottery, wood carvings, jewelry, or other art, if you take a step back and look at the table, it is most likely you're looking at the creative, one - of - a - kind, work of WalterWinslett. What

makes Walter's artwork unique is the source of his materials. If you ask him about the table, you'll hear a very calm, reserved voice say, "Oh, the base is an old flywheel from some machine. I found it at the recycling center. I milled the top from a Loblolly pine that burned in the fire. The pedestal, it's just something I found."

Like so many in the Smithville area, the Winsletts lost their home in the 2011 complex fire. There's an intrinsic beauty in making art from the burnt trees of a disaster that took so much from so many. It's

the Phoenix rising from the ashes, choosing to thrive instead of being destroyed. Whether it is an old storage trunk turned into shelves or an oxen yoke used for the base of a table, reuse is what defines Walter's art. It's giving life, finding value in items where others saw no value.

That philosophy is even taken one step further. One of his art pieces at Mosaic is a whimsical table where the table legs are carvings of legs (pictured on cover). Some legs have cowboy boots, and others are horse legs. The table was commissioned by a law office in Smithville. When the law office shut down, Walter saw the table on Craigslist, bought it, and gave it a second chance to find a purpose.

When you leave Mosiac, turn left, and walk down Main Street a few buildings, you'll have the opportunity to enter the Lost Pines Artisan Alliance's (LPAA) Art Gallery, hosted in the Samantic Square building. There you can view the art of LPAA members, and when you find the piece that calls to you, you can make it yours with the peace of mind that comes from knowing you supported a local artist. But you won't know that behind the curtain at the rear of the gallery is where more art is created.

Sam Blasco, a transplant from New York, bought the building in 2006 and has a unique woodworking shop in the back. Sam's a multifaceted artist. He attended Penn State in the mid 1980s to study fine arts. He started in sculpture and painting but then got cast in a theatrical production. After that, he went to his advisor and said he wanted to switch his major to a theatre major. His advisor told him he probably didn't want to switch to a theater major, but neither an art nor a theater degree would do him any good in the real world, so … go for it.

Sam has had original plays produced in New York and just down the street at Playhouse Smithville, where he also graced the stage countless times. He has also competed in and won numerous poetry slams. But it is in his magnificent woodworking shop where many hours are spent creating custom furniture.

The old adage "The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes" isn't true with Sam. His house is furnished

2PM - 6PM SATURDAY: 1PM - 6PM SUNDAY: 1PM - 5PM

Sam Blasco

Table by Walter Winslet

by Walter Winslet

Death by Dressage Groomed for Death

Robin Vaughan Equestrian Mystery Series

Amazon

LOVERS: Comic Mystery Series

12

with beautiful custom furniture he built in his shop, including beds, dressers, kitchen cabinets, tables, bookshelves, doors, and even crown molding.

Judy Paul

When you leave Sam's shop, go south to the end of Main Street and turn left; in a couple of blocks, you'll come to a large yellow building with beautiful murals of birds, flowers, dogs, and the iconic Smithville water tower painted on the side. This building was once a lumber yard but has served many purposes since the lumber yard shut down over twenty years ago. In 2016, Judy Paul moved from Austin and bought the building to house her art studio. As you walk into the building, you first see a couch and seating area facing a TV. When she opened the studio, she said, "If I'm here, why not be open?" This fits with a word Judy repeatedly used: Connection. To her, art is about building a connection between the artist and the viewer. Her studio, The Lumber Yard, carries the idea of connection. As we talked during the interview, people came and went in a relaxed, comfortable fashion. To Judy, art captures the

emotional state of the artist. She says when she creates a piece with love, someone else is always drawn to the emotions captured.

Judy graduated from Lamar University in 1991 with a degree in graphic design and started working at a T-shirt shop as an illustrator in the days before computers. Not long after, the world began to hear about this mystical thing called "the internet ."At the time, few had a grasp of what the internet was. Yet, she and her ex-husband started an internet company in 1994, where her graphic design skills were put to work. They sold the company in 2000, and she was able to move from graphic design to an art form, with which she felt a deeper connection. She loves creating collages by working with mixed media. Under one of her tables in her studio, you can find an overflowing bin of multicolored paper, pictures, and other printed materials. Once she starts laying down the base, the collage starts becoming its own thing, and she lets it happen, anxious to see what the collage decides what it wants to be.

Judy also likes to step out of her studio to bring something unique to the community. She worked on a community art project to do the mural on the Smithville Community Clinic building.

Artwork by Judy Paul

Woodwork by Sam Blasco

Wanda Gamble

Now let's head over to Wanda Gamble's studio on Hudgins Street. As I came to Wanda's house, there was a "Yard of the Month" sign. That set the tone for what I saw next. To Wanda, art is in everything. Her house was magnificently restored, with original artwork covering all the walls. Her yard is beautifully landscaped with a rose garden, vegetable garden, and areas meticulously maintained with all the colors of the rainbow. She smiled as she said, "Sometimes it's hard for me to leave here and paint. I love being in the garden and just working with it."

As Wanda and I walked through her house and studio, looking at different paintings, I could see the content look in her eyes and hear the joy in her voice as her thoughts went back to the time when she created the

painting. She talked about how she and her husband would take easels out to one of the roads to Ships Lake. When it got too dark to paint, they'd watch the sunset and watch the Perseids meteor showers as they listened to the coyotes howl all around them.

Other pictures perfectly captured the beauty found in common everyday areas so often over-looked. One of her oil paintings was of an alley near her with pink petals covering the ground. She says she loves alleys because, a lot of times, they have native plants that are less manicured.

Robin Lively

When you head out of town and up Cottletown Road, you see the areas where the complex fire of 2011 left its mark. You can see the trunks of the dead, burnt trees starting to be hidden as the new Loblolly pines grow and mature. Just like Walter and Jeri Winslett had to rebuild after the fire, their long-time friends from the Gallery 71 days, Robin Lively and Jim Woodruff had moved forward after the disaster. And, I must say they did it well.

Some people move into the woods and try to control it by clearing out the trees and planting large lawns that must be mowed. Others move into the woods and let the trees, native plants, and contours of the land give them direction on how to move forward. Seeing the beauty in nature and letting that be the canvas you start with is an art form in itself.

by Wanda Gamble

Robin's art reflects her love for the beauty found in nature. Her pastels of landscapes, birds, cats, and other animals, with her attention to light and shadows, capture a passion for the everyday beauty that surrounds us.

Robin has always done some type of art, but it wasn't until 2012 that she was able to fully focus on being an artist. To her, art is a way to capture motive and intent and to invoke an emotional response. She feels art should be accessible to everyone.

Robin Lively

Horsehair Pottery

Jo Watts

The last stop on our tour of local Smithville artists is up the road from Robin to the studio of the 2016 Smithville artist of the year, Jo Watts. As you turn off Old Antioch road to go down Jo's long driveway, you come to her art studio built by her husband and sons.

Jo says she can't remember when she wasn't an artist. Even at age five, she would look at how things go together and how different perspectives change an object. She credits a high school teacher for seeing her ability. The other kids were in the class for a quick credit, but the teacher sent Jo to the back of the room to draw her hands and feet. She spent a whole

semester only drawing her hands and feet. Now, when people look at her art, the hands and feet are one of the first things they notice.

Many years ago, I took my Cub Scout den out to Jo's to let them learn about art from a local artist. The boys watched in fascination as she threw a clump of clay on the wheel, and a pot started forming as her expert hands worked the clay. Hosting the Scouts there was special to us but normal for Jo. She loves teaching classes and nurturing a deeper connection to the world through art. To her, art should invoke emotion. As you look around her studio, you can see what she means. Whether it is her pottery, paintings, silk scarves, and even brass castings, they all reflect her passion.

Before buying the property in 2000, Jo and her family lived all over the world and experienced art from many different cultures. They moved 42 times in 35 years due to her husband's military career and contracting after leaving the military. She worked on an associate's degree in art in north England and studied art in other places she lived. This has given her a perspective that has enhanced her craft.

These are just a handful of the people who make up Smithville's vibrant art community.

Many of the artists in Smithville recognize and appreciate the supportive atmosphere and the quality of life they have found here. Many chose Smithville because the town offers a unique character and a strong sense of community. Artists have commented that there is a growing audience for all types of creativity,

from eager students in the school district to national commissions for local sculptors to enthusiastic folks who will crochet anything around town. The Richard D. Latham Cultural District partners use art, history, and culture for Economic Development purposes to enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors. Their goals are to utilize the arts, history, and culture of the community involvement in cultural activities; retain and attract artists and arts entrepreneurs to locate their workspaces and sell their artwork in Smithville; encourage the eclectic atmosphere that attracts people to the art galleries, live performance venues, and other cultural and historic amenities that make Smithville a unique place to live, work and visit. Come explore the art and culture of Smithville, www.smithvilleculturaldistrict.com

Canvas art by Jo Watts

by Jo Watts

“Don’t wait to have your fun – find it somewhere every day.”

BOMBERS

In the summer of 2021, a simple conversation about bucket lists between Monica Poss and Beckett Franklin-Gray sparked an idea that has snowballed into a group of about 25 women, ages 11 to 74, all committed to having some fun while playing with yarn.

The Smithville Yarn Bombers started working together and launched publicly in September of that year with the installation of “sweaters” on 22 new light poles up and down Main Street in Smithville. Monica tries to recruit new members wherever she goes, even if they don’t live in Smithville. The yarn bombers include knitters and crocheters at vastly different skill levels, even members who can’t knit or crochet but help the group in other ways. SYB’s mission is to inspire creativity and playfulness while building a strong, local community of fiber craftspeople and artists who each have a little rebellion in them. We only leave our work up for a few weeks to encourage people to seize life’s fleeting moments of beauty and joy when those moments present themselves. Don’t wait to have your fun – find it somewhere every day.

SYB’s second project, 11 bicycles placed all around town with a map to hunt them down, was installed in June 2022. A third project

was installed on November 11th for the Airing of the Quilts weekend. It is a 320 square-foot backdrop, reminiscent of a giant quilt, overlayed with huge, colorful flowers. The design was done by Bastrop artist Kim Iberg, and Smithville’s Michelle Rutherford vastly out-crocheted everyone, completing about 25% of the backdrop all by herself.

“We love surprising the town with these unexpected bits of colorful whimsey!” Monica says. “But after a year and a half of some combination of cajoling, enticing, inspiring, and even some bullying to get this group to critical mass, it’s time for me to turn the Yarn Boss title over to someone new.” The leader for the next three projects has yet to step up. Hint, hint.

The Smithville Yarn Bombers are always looking for new members and can be found on Instagram, Facebook, and at SmithvilleYarnBombers@gmail.com.

EXPERIENCE ART at its finest

Smithville

artists are fortunate to have such strong community and city support. The Lost Pines Artisans Alliance has made it their mission to help artists get to work and enrich the community at large with the arts and art projects. The city of Smithville has a strong partnership with the L.P.A.A. which is responsible to coordinate the Cultural Art District programs and activities. The L.P.A.A. is a nonprofit of more than 150 members, artists and patrons who represent a wide diversity of creative endeavors in visual arts, performing arts, music,

“The Smithy”

Jo Watts Clay Smith Studio & Gallery

512-577-5252

www.JoWattsClaySmith.com

Jo does pottery and sculptures.  In addition, she teaches classes in pottery, silk painting, and various workshops. One of the sections of her studio is dedicated to finished and “for sale” work. At the moment, all the pieces are Jo’s, but sometimes she shows the work of other artists. She also does some custom/commissioned work. “If a client doesn’t see what he or she is looking for, we can always come up with a plan to suit.”

Although she spends most of her creative time there, it’s best to phone ahead to ensure she’s in and to get directions.

LPAA Gallery on Main

206 Main St. 512-798-3534 www.lostpinesartisanalliance.org Shop locally for that unique and lovely artwork, from hand-crafted jewelry to hand-painted scarves, boots, and jackets. From oil and watercolor paintings to hand-thrown pottery, the Lost Pines Art Alliance Gallery on Main has a gift for everyone. LPAA membership is rich with a variety of art professionals who offer their work for sale, affordably priced. Open Friday & Saturday 10 am-5 pm and extended hours in December.

Lumberyard Studio

Gallery of Judy Paul

223 NE 1st St

512-507-8199 | Lumberyard.studio

The Lumberyard Studio is 3600 square feet of gallery, painting studio, and woodworking shop. The building was built in 1895 as the community’s lumberyard and is now a hub for

creativity and fun. We have a growing selection of projects and supplies to make something yourself, as well as art by Judy Paul and goods crafted by our family of makers. Prints, originals & cool gifts made by local artisans. When the weather is nice, we’ll set up the corn hole game in the best yard in town. Play at the Lumberyard Studio!

Main Gallery

Smithville

200 Main St. www.maingallerysmithville.com

The newest gallery to open in downtown Smithville. Founded by Fred & Laurie Beck, Main Gallery showcases contemporary art from premier regional artists. Located in Historic Downtown Smithville, Texas, Main Gallery provides a space for communities to connect through creativity.

“We chose Smithville as our home almost two years ago. When the opportunity presented to have ownership of the site on 2nd and Main, we immediately decided to follow our passions as artists and art collectors. The bottom line is that we firmly believe in the fundamental importance of art in people’s lives.”

Open Mon 10 – 6, Wed–Sat 10 – 6 & Sun noon - 3

205 Main St. 512-912-1211 | www.flamingoranch.com

This gallery offers an ever-changing opportunity for inspiration. In their first two years, they have hosted some of the most utterly fantastic in the Jim Rittiman reimagined bones and bugs collection to the great Anne Marie Adonyi. With a pinball machine and ping pong table in the back to the fire in the front-this gallery is fun! Silky’s is hosted by mosaic artist Stefanie Distefano along with Damien Noll, Chris Glover, and Ali Denham. All four are artists, and they bring accessible and interesting art. Silky’s puts up a new show every month during the season and has Wednesday Happy Hours while shows are up. Dont miss their Annual Christmas Party and Holiday Show Dec 10. From $10 serape cups to mindblowing Sundrawn heads! Damien Noll uses a magnifying glass and the sun to burn an intricate design into bone. A huge collection of his work will show through the end of the year. This work appeals to kids, ranchers, artists, literally everyone, and is stunning every time you see a piece. Mosaics, paintings, pottery, cool installations-you never know what you will see in this gallery, but it’s always a good experience!

Established in 2011, Omega Bronze is a full-service art foundry that casts table-top size bronzes to 18-foot tall bronze monuments. A small family ran business that casts for artists across the United States. High- quality work. You can see some of the statues cast at Omega Bronze in Smithville, at the state capitol grounds, and Brazos Valley Veteran’s Memorial Park in College Station, to name a few. The owner, Stephen Zabel, grew up in Smithville, and is happy to now raise a family here and run a business.

PRIZER AT 212 MAIN

Carrie Kenny, Director

212 Main Street | Smithville | 512-417-1813

For store hours, go to our website: PRIZERARTSANDLETTERS.ORG

Prizer is a nonprofit gallery and arts space, offering curated exhibits that foster community participation, creativity, and dialogue. For their first show in Smithville, they wanted to do something reflective of the community of Smithville instead of just bringing something in from the outside. So for a few months, photographer Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon photographed Smithville residents for his portrait show, «Smithville, USA.» “The images he created are beautiful, and we feel very grateful for people’s willingness to participate in the project and the overall welcoming we have received in Smithville,” owner Carrie Kenny said.

Currently, at 212 Main, they also

are featuring “Common Thread,” a cooperative, collaborative community clothing installation by Bernadette Noll. This collaborative and free clothing swap with participatory programming has now been extended through December 15th.

For the future, Prizer plans on developing a writer and visual artist residency in Smithville, which would afford visiting artists and writers who need time and space to work on projects and share their talents with the community. Kenny said they are also working on creating more participatory exhibits, readings, and events that will be free and open to all.

WESLEY FERRELL

SMITHVILLE USA

Photography has always been an excuse to boldly walk up to people and say hello. Here in Smithville, I had the opportunity to photograph about one hundred and fifty people and was introduced to many more folks. Everyone has been warm and inviting and willing to be vulnerable in front of the camera - ready to share things they may haven’t been asked to share in a while, or ever. That’s the greatest gift anybody can share with you - their attention, time, and stories.

A portrait-sitting, for me, is less about the photograph and more about a moment and the collaborative connection with the person in the photograph. When someone feels like they’re being paid attention to - that somebody’s genuinely interested in what they have to say - it’s a lot easier to be comfortable in front of a camera. And it can disarm us of our projected public self, our public mask, and the narrative we use to navigate the day.

For these revealing moments to happen, creating a special space is essential. The physical location can play a part, but it’s more about making a space where somebody can feel heard and safe, so they are comfortable talking about things that take them out of their day-to-day rituals. Creating that feeling of safety is always on me - I don’t expect anyone else to do that. It’s my job to read the room and create an environment where I think that person will feel comfortable. And that can sometimes be with a silly joke, sometimes with an observation of something they’re wearing, or said, or done. Sometimes it’s with lights,

music, or just a few questions - but it’s up to me to create it somehow. Without that trusting space, the photograph is just a mugshot.

As an immigrant, I learned how to read a room from a young age. Being born in a different country and growing up here forces you into a survival mode where you want people to accept and like you, especially as a kid. So you understand that you’ve got to mold yourself to fit different situations. And if that happens in your formative years, it becomes your modus operandi for life - you don’t just turn it off. And while people who grow up where they were born to have a different set of challenges than I did, this was imprinted in my DNA – that molding to fit the space you’re in and learning and taking from it the most you can. But I also know to give as much of myself as possible. Give-and-take is key to building the collaborative energy that creates memorable moments between and among people.

I am grateful for the moments I have had with people here in Smithville and all who were willing to take the risk of being photographed. With this show, I want to allow viewers an opportunity to get outside of their comfort zone and look at themselves and their community in

a new way. I want people to leave feeling enthusiastic about reconnecting with their city in a way that’s somewhat different than how they’ve interacted with it in the past - maybe you are waving to new people that you didn’t wave to before, maybe you are visiting other parts of town that you haven’t been to in a long time or ever, maybe you are expanding your definition of your hometown a little bit, maybe you are making new friends with people that you never thought you would be friends with. These kinds of actions would define a successful project for me and make me happy that not only did I get to have special moments with all these folks, but they got to have special moments with each other.

I am grateful for the moments I have had with people here in Smithville.

Temporary Exhibit at Prizer at 212 Main Street

By Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon a photojournalist

shops ON BLOCK

New Business Highlights

The newest shop on the block is Main Gallery Smithville, an art gallery featuring Texas artists, including Malou Flato, Felice House, Dana Younger, Margie Crisp, William Montgomery, Judy Paul, and Michelle Gardella. The gallery opened in mid-November and plans to join forces with other galleries to draw art collectors interested in art initiatives in the area. “We sense is that in doing so, we can let a wider audience know that Smithville is home to many arts venues.”

Owners Fred and Laurie Beck chose their home to be Smithville two years ago. When the opportunity presented to own the building on Main Street and 2nd Street, they immediately decided to follow our passions as artists and art collectors. “The bottom line is we firmly believe in the basic importance of art in people’s lives,” says Beck.

RICHTER’S TRADING POST

Richter Trading Post opened in the spring of 2022. It is housed in an interesting building with a walkway in the middle leading to a B&B in the back. Specializing in vintage records and books, Richter Trading Post also has an incredible collection of posters, home décor, glassware, arts, and collectibles.

312 Main Street | Smithville 737-230-2680

Instagram: Richtertradingpost11 Facebook: RichterTradingPost Thursday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm, or by appointment.

“We are excited to serve those who have lived here their whole lives and those who are passing through on their travels through town.”

SMITHVILLE BREWING COMPANY

Smithville Brewing Company opened in June of this year and is the only brewery in Smithville. They brew small-batch beer and release them when available, but they also feature Texas craft beer, popular domestics in bottles and cans, wine, seltzers, and other beverages. Friday – Sunday, they have food options, including jumbo sourdough pretzels, beer, cheese mustard, and food trucks on site. The brewery is located on three acres near the municipal

@smithvillebrew airport, where you can enjoy great views and brews. Kids and leashed pets are always welcome.

Owners Todd Henry and Ashley Harris feel blessed to finally see their dreams as small business owners come to fruition in Smithville, TX, a small town with a big heart and now great beer. They look forward to being an anchor business for many years to come!

SMITHVILLE BBQ

Smithville BBQ opened its doors in August of this year; they’re excited to bring BBQ back to Smithville! They opened in the exact location that housed Zimmerhanzel’s for decades. “Although we are in their former building, we know we can’t be Bert & DeeDee. Our goal is to respect the legacy they built over four decades of serving this community so well. We chose to open in Smithville because we know that the local community has come to enjoy having bbq as one of their dining options,” says owner Rachel Bracewell.

Smithville BBQ smokes and serves a traditional bbq menu that includes brisket, sausage, ribs, chicken halves and thighs, pork steak, pulled pork, and chopped brisket. They also recognize that, as is the case for many small towns in Central Texas, Smithville is growing.